Survival of All or None
by Lady Jenna
Summary: The secret behind the mysterious egg is revealed, but how does it affect Dinotopia?
1. 1

****

I own Amelia, Mary, Earhart, Levo, Valde, the egg, and Miami (see Breathe Deep before reading)

"Survival of All or None"

By: Lady Jenna

Zippo had allowed for Marion to bring a few of his chosen books with them on their trip to the Hatchery. Despite the failure of their first trip to the Hatchery, Marion, David, Karl, and Amelia easily made it to the Hatchery. On this trip Earhart and 26 joined them, causing a bit of a hassle for Karl, especially when 26 go her eyes on the wide-open fields of her youth. The second they arrived 26 ran off and Karl ran off after her and Earhart ran after him to make sure neither of them got lost. The Matriarch and Samantha walked out of the Hatchery to greet them. Marion and her little sister shared a hug.

"Your mother has been waiting for you to arrive, Amelia," the Matriarch told her. Amelia nodded.

"Yes, where is your house?" David asked her. Marion and Amelia pointed in the direction 26, Karl, and Earhart had run off in. David stood on his toes and saw the roof of her house. 

"The egg is making a noise," Samantha told them happily. The three of them looked worriedly at each other before entering the Hatchery. 

"26! 26! Get back here! _26_!" Karl yelled chasing the dinosaur over the grassy field. 26 was pretty far in front of him, making a loud honking noise as she ran. Earhart was even farther behind Karl, already out of breath.

"Karl! 26! Ow! Oh ow!" he yelled running after them. 26 eventually ran to a good sized, single floor house. She walked right past the door and over to a window. Karl stopped running to catch his breath and Earhart soon joined him.

"Oh my…" Earhart said and Karl looked at him. They heard a woman yell in surprise from inside the house. Soon the front door opened and a woman poked her head out and looked down the side of the house at 26, who noticed the woman and ran over to her.

"You scared me half to death," the woman said running her hand on the top of 26's head. The woman looked up and at Karl and Earhart. She smiled warmly.

"Hello," she said to them. Karl sighed and walked over to her, Earhart behind him.

"Sorry," he apologized, "she's not used to the fields."

"Oh it's quite alright. Hello," she said to Earhart.

"Hello, Miami," Earhart said. Karl looked a little surprised.

"Miami, what?" Karl asked looking back and forth between the two. The woman laughed.

"Are you Karl, or David?" she asked him. Karl paused.

"Karl," he responded. Miami outstretched her hand.

"Hello Karl, I'm Miami. I'm Amelia's mother," she said and he shook her hand, a little shocked. 

"Uh, hi, I here you're nice this time of year," Karl said receiving a confused look. 

Marion smiled as they followed the Matriarch and Samantha through the Hatchery. It had been awhile since Marion had been in here and she missed the feeling of it. Amelia had fresher memories of the Hatchery but she was still pleased to be back. David on the other hand was searching everything he could see with great curiosity. 

"So _this_ is the Hatchery?" David said followed by a chuckle. Amelia tapped his shoulder and pointed over to a corner of the room.

"That's where Marion and I met for the first time," she told him. 

"She caught me," Marion added.

"She landed on me," Amelia corrected her. 

"How old were you guys?" David asked them. 

"Oh, we could just walk," Marion said smiling. 

"Marion had a bit of trouble with it, that's why she landed on me," Amelia said with a small laugh.

"Miami and I have been friends for almost thirty years now," the Matriarch told him.

"Miami?" he asked.

"My mother," Amelia explained. He nodded in understanding.

"I was there when her first child was born, and she was there when mine was," the Matriarch said with a gently laugh.

"She was nine months pregnant but she was there," Amelia said.

"Miami saw Marion before I did," the Matriarch said. 

"I was there for Marion's birth as well. I was in a womb though so the event didn't reach me that much," Amelia explained. 

"That's the capsule I found the egg in," Samantha said as they passed it. 

"That's an odd contraption," Marion said and Amelia agreed with her.

"And here's the egg itself!" Samantha said proudly showing the egg. It was in its own area with a few sun stone fragments around it. The symbol was showing up and David ran his hand over as he examined it again. Amelia looked worriedly at the symbol then at the Matriarch, who was watching her for her response. 

"I do know I've seen the symbol before…" Marion said. She turned to her mother.

"Any luck figuring it out?" Marion asked.

"No," the Matriarch said still looking at Amelia, who was in turn still looking at her. 

"I've never seen a symbol like it before," David said.

"Hey! Look who we found," Karl announced as he, 26, Earhart, and Miami walked over to the group. Amelia placed her hand to her mouth and ran past them all abruptly.

"What's with her?" Karl asked them.

"She see it?" Miami asked the Matriarch worriedly. The Matriarch nodded and Miami took off after her daughter. Earhart quickly followed them.

"Is she alright?" Marion asked her mother worriedly. The Matriarch nodded. 

"Amelia just has things to deal with," the Matriarch said looking at Karl who knew what she was talking about. Well, he knew more then the other's did. 

Earhart searched the Hatchery over and over with no sign of Amelia. He found Miami a few times, but not her daughter. He was beginning to worry about her. Miami had filled Earhart in on a few personal aspects of her daughters, things neither of them knew about. He had always wondered why he had been privilege to such things, but now he knew. Miami knew Amelia was stronger than her sister, and that Amelia would eventually find everything out. And he would have to be there to help her through it. He was worrying about her.

Marion had set up all of the books Zippo had loaned her and now she, David, and Samantha were searching through them carefully looking for the symbol made up of circles and lines. Zippo had given them a large variety of books dealing from the World Beneath to the Outer World. They would search through the book she brought and Zippo would look through the ones in the library. If he found anything he promised to send word to them. She knew the symbol, and it plagued her mind. Why would an egg have a symbol on it? What was it an egg for? Why was it in a waterproof capsule on the beach? But mostly what she wanted to know, was who put it there. For now she would have to work on finding the symbol. It had to be in a book. She had seen it before, so it must have been in a book. Even Samantha said it looked familiar. But her sister didn't read a lot, not as much as Marion did. Marion also had a sinking suspicion her mother knew something, but she had no reason to doubt her mother. If the Matriarch did know the mystery behind the symbol, and was concealing it, then she had good reason. Miami seemed to know something too, though. What was it Marion couldn't find?


	2. 2

Karl walked slowly down the coast, making sure that 26 was always in his sight. He was beginning to regret letting her pick where they'd walk. His memories of this particular beach were not of the good variety. He began to hear 26's honking noises, which meant that she was running. He sighed and jogged after her. He heard another yell of surprise and figured 26 just ran into Amelia's aunt or something. When he found 26 she had Amelia pinned to the sandy beach with her nose. Karl just grinned and sat down on a washed up log right next to them. 

"You _certainly _have made a friend there," he said.

"I'm beginning to think she likes me more than she likes _you_!" Amelia said finally getting out from under 26's grasp and sitting on the log next to Karl, brushing sand off of her. Karl brushed some sand off of her hair and lifted her hair up to brush some off her back. The moment he lifted her hair up she jumped off the log away from him. He sighed.

"You really _are_ self conscience about those scales," he said. 

"It's not the scales…" she confessed.

"You mean there's something _else_ wrong with you?" he asked her. She just glared at him before walking back toward the Hatchery. He stood up and chased after her. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close to him. She struggled but he managed to pull her hair off of her back and see what she was hiding this time. She stopped struggling so he looked at her head and then up at what she was looking at. Samantha was standing at the top of the hill looking at them. Amelia took the time to get away from him and ran up the hill to Samantha. She and Samantha exchanged a few words before walking to the Hatchery. 26 nudged Karl in the knee to announce that she was there. Karl had seen something, but he wasn't sure if he believed it. 

David looked up from the books when Amelia and Samantha barged into the Hatchery talking about something. He heard Karl's name a few times and came to the decision he probably didn't want to know what they were talking about. Marion closed one book and leaned forward and opened another. She began to search that page. After a few moments she stood up and walked over to the egg, then back to the book.

"David…" she said and he stood up and looked at the book where she was pointing. He looked at the egg, and then back at the book.

"That's it! That's the symbol! What book is this?" David asked her.

"It's about the World Beneath," she said and she and David looked at each other a little worried.

"We have an egg from the World Beneath?" David asked her. 

"Well this picture tells the story of the Ultimate God of the World Beneath," Marion told him pointing to the pictures.

"Ultimate God? There's more than one?"

"Yes. He was the creator of the saurian languages, supposedly. He was the first of the line of gods. When they came up from the World Beneath it was the tenth god."

"What does that have to do with the symbol?" David asked.

"It says here that the children of this Ultimate God have this symbol somewhere on their bodies."

"Why would a god come in an egg?" David asked her.

"They were half human and half dinosaur, so I suppose they could reproduce with both dinosaurs _and_ humans…"

"So when that egg hatches, we'll get a half god, 3/4 dinosaur, ¼ human… thing?"

"I'll suppose we'll have to wait to see when it hatches," Marion said with a sigh.

26 was busy sleeping off the trip so Karl decided he'd go get another look at the egg. Everyone else had gone to the farm so Karl was on patrol to make sure nothing bad happened to any eggs. He walked over to the special egg and looked at the symbol. He then looked at the picture in the book. Marion and David had explained to him what it meant, and he had watched when they explained it to Amelia. He hadn't been surprised when they told him, not after his and Amelia's little vacation to the World Beneath. The symbol on the egg was the same as on the back of her neck. So this egg was what? Amelia's half brother or sister or something? Karl also wondered if Amelia was hatched instead of born… He sat down next to the egg. 

"Your sister is going to creep you out. Hey but it'll probably be mutual there. So you're a little god huh? Don't smite me or anything, okay? And don't let your big sister smite me either, I know she wants to…" he said and turned to the egg as if waiting for an answer. 

"Yea I know, but she's a friend of Marion's. Hey… I wonder if Amelia could help me get Marion… Oh but she thinks David and Marion should be together, yes… Maybe I should start getting information from Samantha, she wouldn't mind me for a brother," he said and turned to the egg again.

"Oh right… The Matriarch, I know she likes me, well, tolerates me… but I think she'd prefer _David_ for a son."

"Who are you talking to?" Amelia asked walking in from a different room. She walked over to the wall of eggs and looked over the ones at her eye level. 

"Your brother or sister here," he said pointing a finger to the egg. She looked at him angrily. 

"I'm not related to an _egg_," she told him.

"This symbol from the Ultimate God would suggest otherwise…" he said and she charged toward him.

"And I'm _not_ a god!" she yelled at him. He sighed.

"Amelia, _face it_, if _I_ can even believe this _you_ should be able to. You've lived in this magic place all your life. Why is this so hard for you?"

"I'm sick! Alright! And this, this _thing _on the back of my neck is a birth mark!"

"What are the chances of two sisters have the _same_ birthmark?" he asked and she fell silent, "Mary had one too, didn't she? That's how you know what it looks like. I've been in your house, there are _no_ mirrors anywhere."

"My sister is of no concern to you…" she told him.

"She's no concern to anyone anymore!" he said and immediately regretted it. The look in her eyes told him she wanted to hit him, and she was now within striking range. She looked like she was about to hit him but she sighed and looked down at the egg. 

"How is that symbol on the egg?" she asked him to his surprise. 

"Maybe Valde finally had offspring," he suggested.

"No. He'd never send it to the Hatchery. Besides the Matriarch found the egg before we met Valde."

"Yea and he was pretty desperate for a mate…" Karl said and received a look from Amelia. 

"I'll get you back for that one later," she said as she placed the tips of her fingers on the eggs.

"UH!" she said as her knees gave way. Karl quickly caught her before she fell.

"What the Hell?" he asked as she regained her stance. She held her head in her hands before looking at him worriedly. 

"What was that?" he asked her and she shrugged.

"It was like a wave over me. I, I think your right."

"About what?"

"This egg, I think I _am_ related to it…" she said looking at him obviously worried. Karl started to laugh slightly. 

"And I thought _my_ family was bad."

Miami and the Matriarch walked toward the Hatchery. The sun had set and they were walking by moonlight. All of their children had already gone to the Hatchery so the two mothers decided to walk slowly. 

"How long until the egg hatches, Rosemary?" Miami asked her.

"Could be weeks, could be months."

"So it is Levo's child, isn't it?" Miami asked looking down at her feet. Rosemary placed a hand on her good friend's shoulder. 

"He once explained it to me. He was very happy with the three of you Miami, he was as happy as he could be. But it was only half of him that was happy. His saurian half was-"

"I know, I know Rosemary. But I do miss him…"

"He misses you too. I believe he sent this egg to you. To his family, because he knew you would raise it well," Rosemary told her. 

"Amelia will be going off soon, it'd be nice to have a child around the house. Even if it is mostly saurian."

"You'll survive Miami, they'll all survive."

"I would like Amelia to be here when it hatches. Unless Levo or the mother appears, Amelia is the only family that child will have…"

"I'm sure she won't leave, not after what she's been going through. She'll stay until she learns what's going on."

"So will Marion, and those boys presumably…"

"They're all welcomed to stay."

"Those boys, do you trust them?"

"I trust them with my daughter."

"Then so shall I."


	3. 3

Karl was in the Hatchery kitchen. He had a bowl sitting on the counter in which he was throwing bits of different things into. 26 was watching him impatiently. Ever since 26 could tell the difference Karl was the only one who could cook for her. If anyone else made it, she wouldn't eat it. It's not that he always made a certain thing, he usually just threw together whatever there was. But if it came from him, 26 loved it. He was humming and signing a song from his favorite band. It was a song he'd never hear again but he still liked it. He began to stir the contents of the bowl when he looked over to the doorway into the kitchen. He stopped singing and scratched the back of his head embarrassed. Marion was standing in the doorway watching him; she had a smile on her face. 

"I was just a, a…" Karl said not coming up with anything. Marion walked over to him.

"I know what you were doing," she said still smiling at him. He laughed nervously. 

"26 was hungry so I thought I'd make her something," he said and they both looked down t 26 who was looking at the bowl eagerly. Karl laughed again and he stirred the bowl's contents a bit more before setting the bowl in front of her. 26 quickly rammed her face into the bowl and pushed it all the way to the cupboard as she ate out of it. Karl and Marion laughed a little. 

"Like I said, she was hungry."

"So I see," Marion said watching 26 and laughing. 

"Some um, what can I do for you?" Karl asked Marion leaning over onto the counter. 

"I need to talk to you…" Marion told him seriously.

"What are you doing up there!" David yelled up. Amelia was sitting on the roof of the Hatchery all by herself. There was a ladder below her revealing the way she got up there. She turned from the ocean to look at him.

"Admiring the scenery!" she answered. He laughed a little and looked over the water too.

"Can I join you!" he asked her. She thought about it for a little.

"I suppose so!" she finally answered. David jogged over to the ladder and climbed up it. He carefully made his way up the roof and sat down next to her. The wind on top of the roof was stronger then that on the land but the view of the ocean was better.

"This is great," he said having to raise his voice only a bit to be heard over the roar of the wind. 

"I used to spend a good part of my day up here," she told him. 

"With all of the things to do here, you spent your time on a roof?" he asked her surprised. She turned to him and nodded before looking back at the ocean. 

"Sometimes when I look just out to the water, and I don't see anything else, and when the wind is really blowing… I feel like I'm flying," she explained. 

"Why didn't you become a Skybax rider?" he asked her. 

"Not of the air. Not of the water," she told him.

"How old were you when you were given a habitat?" he asked her, thinking about how old Earhart was.

"I wasn't _given_ a habitat. My habitat was _decided_."

"What does that mean?" he asked her, now curious. 

"One morning when I was three, I woke up to find a Stenonychosaurus had placed her egg in my care. She reached in through the window and placed the egg under my arm with a note," she told him.

"What did the note say?" 

" "For you." It was in foot print."

"That's really weird!"

"Yea! The Matriarch said that my habitat had been decided then."

"So you had to raise a dinosaur at three?"

"No, my mother raised him. Earhart is like a brother to me. We grew up together."

"You and Earhart are probably closer than Karl and I," David said with a laugh.

"We're a lot closer then you'd think," Amelia said with a laugh and David looked at her oddly. She looked back at him realizing he might like an explanation for it. 

"You mean the scales, don't you?" he asked to her surprise.

"So Karl squealed?" she asked him frowning and looked back at the ocean. 

"Earhart told me," David said and Amelia quickly turned to him in shock. 

"Earhart!" she said surprised. David nodded.

"He figured since every once else knew, I should too," David explained. Amelia sighed and turned back to the ocean. The two of them were quiet for a bit. Then Amelia turned back to him.

"Do you hear that?" she asked him right before the roof gave way under them and they both fell down into a conveniently placed pile of straw. 

Marion and Karl ran out of the kitchen and into the room filled with the piles of straw. When they saw what happened Karl laughed a little but Marion didn't so Karl stopped. Samantha and the Matriarch arrived behind them, and Earhart behind them.

"Oh what happened?" Earhart asked as Amelia and David realized what happened and started to laugh. Karl and Marion took a few steps into the pile and helped them to their feet. Everyone looked up at the hole in the ceiling. 

"Hey that's the longest lasting roof yet," Amelia said laughing as she stepped off on to the stone floor of the rest of the Hatchery.

"You mean you've fallen through there before?" Karl asked her. She nodded smiling. 

"She fell through it four times one summer," Marion told him. David laughed.

"Three and a half. I got stuck half way that one time," she corrected Marion.

"Don't you get mad at her over that?" Karl asked the Matriarch.

"She always fixes it," the Matriarch told him.

"Amelia is good at fixing things," Samantha added.

"I've had enough practice," Amelia said.

"Haven't you ever gotten hurt?" David asked her.

"A few times."

"Earhart got hurt once," Marion said and Earhart sighed.

"That was his own fault! I told him to stay down there but he didn't listen to me," Amelia said and Earhart sighed again.

"I thought you said "come up." "

"Oh when can "stay there" sound like "come up?" " Amelia asked him and the two began to fight. The Matriarch placed a hand on each of their shoulders and they calmed down. 

"I believe there's a hole to be fixed," she reminded them. Amelia nodded and headed off to go get some tools.

"I'll help you!" David said jogging after her. Karl headed off to clean up after 26 so Marion joined him. 

The bowl was empty and 26 sleeping in the corner. Karl laughed slightly and picked up the bowl and began to wash it. Marion smiled at 26.

"She does love you," Marion told Karl. Karl agreed and smiled. 

"She seems to like Amelia too, oddly so…" Karl said. Marion sighed and walked up next to him.

"Yes, that's what I want to talk to you about…" Marion started and Karl looked at her curiously. 

"About Amelia? This isn't going to go well," he said.

"I remember where I've seen that symbol before…" she admitted. 

"Yea uh, her neck," Karl said pointing to the back of his neck. Marion looked at him surprised. 

"Um, did I forget to tell you I saw the symbol on the back of Amelia's neck?" Karl asked her and Marion nodded. She sighed.

"Karl does this mean everything Amelia has told me has been a lie?" Marion asked her. 

"No, no Marion. She wasn't lying to you… She don't know who she was until we…" he started but remembered he promised to keep that a secret. But Marion right now was looking at him in that wonderful curious way he loved. He sighed and told her everything. Including the ping pong game and the, uh, mating thing. By the end of it she was some what confused but hid it well.

"So Amelia _is_ a god?" Marion asked him. Karl nodded.

"So was Mary," Karl said. Marion sighed and sat down. 

"Why didn't she tell me?" Marion asked. 

"She doesn't believe it herself," Karl said walking over and sitting down next to her. 

"But even with the mark and the scales and the story?" Marion asked him. Karl shrugged.

"You know her better than I do Marion," Karl told her. Marion looked down at the floor.

"My poor friend," she said more to herself than to Karl. He looked at her surprised.

" "Poor?" She's a _god_!" Karl told her.

"You don't understand… Amelia has lived all of her life feeling different from everyone else but her sister. Now with her sister gone she's felt so alone. And she is alone. She's the only one of her _kind_, Karl…" Marion explained. Karl sighed, stood up, and paced back and forth for a few moments. 

"She's not alone as long as she has her friends and family," he told Marion and she smiled up at him.


	4. 4

David and Amelia had longed a bunch of wood, nails, and tools carefully up onto the roof, now incredibly careful about the strength of the roof they were standing on. Amelia went out ahead of David, being a bit braver when it came to this roof. Plus David was carrying the heavier wood. Once Amelia was situated safely David came out and sat on the opposite side of the hole than her. He laid a plank of wood across the hole and they both began to hammer it into a pre-established beam. After a few nails were in David looked up and behind him at the ocean. He smiled.

"That is a great view," he said. Amelia stopped hammering and looked at the ocean too. 

"It tamed my grandmother. She said she'd never seen a place more beautiful. She could never bring herself to leave," Amelia said with a sigh, David looked up at her curiously. 

"Mostly she could never bring herself to leave because there's no way off of the island," Amelia added and David laughed slightly. 

"For a minute there I th-!" David said before the roof under him gave way and he fell down into the Hatchery.

"No!" Amelia yelled as she quickly ran over the newly placed plank and grabbed David's foot before he hit the ground. Her hands were wrapped around his left angle as the rest of him dangled in the air. David quickly got over his shock and looked down to see he wasn't in fact above a pile of straw, but over the godly egg. He yelled out in surprised and looked up at Amelia.

"How'd you know I'd land on the egg?" he yelled up to her but she was too busy holding on to him to answer. Amelia wrapped her ankles around the newly nailed plank so she wouldn't fall over with him. David called out for help and very quickly everyone in the building entered the room and gasped in shock. David and Amelia yelled in surprise as the plank's nails gave way and Amelia fell down through the new hole. Her legs were still wrapped around the plank and the plank's length stopped her and David from hitting the floor, and the egg. At this point Marion and the Matriarch moved the egg and Karl and Earhart helped David carefully to his feet, giving Amelia a great relief. She groaned as she struggled back up onto the roof.

"Are you alright Amelia?" Earhart yelled up to her worriedly. 

"I'm okay!" she yelled back down, obviously out of breath. David was breathing heavily too. 

"That was really close," David said.

"Good thing Amelia was there to save you," Karl told him jokingly but David didn't laugh.

"Is the egg alright?" David asked the Matriarch who nodded gracefully. 

"That was an incredible catch Amelia!" Samantha yelled up to her.

"Thanks!" Amelia yelled back down.

"How could she have held you for so long? Had it been me you'd have fallen," Karl confessed.

"Amelia's always been a bit on the strong side," Marion informed them. Karl and David looked at the Matriarch, who was looking quietly at the both of them.

"Scales?" David asked his brother and Karl nodded in agreement. 

After supper that night Marion was in the kitchen washing the dishes. She needed time to think so she figured she'd busy herself while she was doing it. After a while she was joined by Miami. At first she was a bit disappointed that her solitariness had been interrupted. It was Miami and she took up the role of dish drying. At first Miami was just silently helping Marion but once her presence was adjusted to she spoke.

"There was something Amelia's father always said. "Don't plan on love being easy to find." He father was a smart man, Marion, well he was a god, I suppose he'd have to be…" Miami told her and Marion was silent. Miami sighed.

"He was always torn in two, that man. But no matter where he went or what he was doing, his heart was always in one place," Miami said as she dried the last dish, put it away, and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Marion alone. With the dishes down Marion walked over and sat at the table. Where was her heart?

Amelia sat in a chair and was looking down at the egg. When that thing hatches, it's going to be her brother or sister. She hoped it'd be a brother, she couldn't handle having another sister. She'll only ever have the one sister, no one could replace Mary. Amelia twiddled the ring that hung around the chain around her neck in her fingers. She looked up at the two holes she had temporarily fixed. It had gone dark before she could completely finish them. David had been a little more hesitant to go onto the roof a third time so she had to fix the roof herself. She didn't mind, she was used to doing it by herself. She'd fallen so many times through that roof, but not a single fall made her hesitant in the least to go up there. She loved sitting on that roof, looking out to the ocean, feeling the wind in her hair, flying. She wondered if Earhart's mother hadn't placed him in Amelia's bed, what Amelia's habitat might have been. Maybe she could have flown. The idea of giving Earhart up for a Skybax appalled her so she stopped wondering about it. She let the ring drop back to her chest and rubbed the back of her neck with her hands. She never had seen the symbol on the back of her neck, but her mother said it matched Mary's perfectly. The symbol was the one thing Amelia always knew she and her sister had in common. No one ever told Amelia that her sister at scales. Amelia didn't get her's until she was five, and Mary died only five years after that. Mary might have had scales for seven years. Did Amelia's mom know? Amelia's eyes moved once again to the egg. Until her father or the egg's mother was found, Amelia would be the egg's only family. It was her father's child, she was sure of it. Whenever she touched the egg she could tell. She could feel her father in it. She was three when he left, but she remembered him. The egg might never know her father. She heard footsteps entering the room and looked up to see Karl walking in. He looked surprised to see her there and he slowly walked over to her, noticing she was in a bit of a melancholy mood.

"Are you okay?" he asked her more curious than worried. 

"For fifteen years I thought my father was dead…" she said. He sighed realizing this was going to be a long story so he sat down next to her.

"All right, come on out with it," he told her. She looked at him with a pout. 

"I'm not going to tell you, you don't really care," she told him to his surprise.

"Listen, you're Marion's friend. If you're unhappy she's unhappy, so I care, I care!" he explained.

"I'm always going to be "Marion's friend," aren't I?" she asked him.

"With any hope…"

"No I mean I'm never going to be _your_ friend, I'm always just going to be "_Marion's _friend," " Amelia further explained. Karl shrugged. 

"I dunno, probably…"

"You weren't very well liked on the Outland were you?" Amelia asked him and Karl scoffed in surprise. 

"I had tons of friends!"

"You father was rich…"

"That had nothing to do with it most of the time."

"Well you certainly didn't have friends due to your sunny disposition."

"At least I wasn't afraid to have friends because I was sick."

"I wasn't sick I'm a god," Amelia corrected him to both of their surprises. They both smiled realizing what she had said. Karl laughed slightly. 

"So you're a god," he said and she looked down at her feet smiling before looking back up at him.

"How can I possibly be a god, Karl? Gods aren't real, they're just legend…"

"And dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years…" Karl pointed out. Amelia sighed.

"What am I supposed to do as a god?" she asked him. Karl shrugged. 

"I know what'd I do, but I doubt you'd wanna do that…" Karl said and Amelia looked at him questionably. He waved it off. 

"You're an odd fellow, Karl…"

"This coming from the chick with scales!" he said laughing but she didn't laugh so he stopped. 

"At lest my bodily oddities are natural. What's this thing on your arm, anyway?" she asked him. Karl looked down at the tattoo on his right forearm. He laughed at the memory of how he got it.

"That thing on my arm is about as long a story as that thing on your neck," he told her and she left it at that. 


	5. 5

It was night and 26 had carefully crept out of Karl's room and was wandering around the Hatchery. She couldn't find anything to eat inside the Hatchery so she wandered outside for a little. She eventually came to the Hatchery garden…

"26! 26!" Karl called out as he walked around the Hatchery. He had woken up that morning not met by 26's snoring or her smiling face. He often woke up to find her nose three inches away from his. But this morning she wasn't in his room at all and so far she was no where in the Hatchery. There was a nagging feeling of worry creeping up him but he tried to calm it. He heard David's voice calling for 26 and Amelia's right before she walked into the room Karl was standing in. Amelia looked at Karl sympathetically knowing how worried he must not be letting himself get. David's head appeared in the doorway leading outside.

"Guys," he said and disappeared. Karl and Amelia quickly followed him. Karl laughed in relief as he saw 26. She was laying in the middle of a giant hole that had been the Hatchery garden. Bits and pieces of vegetables surrounded her and she snored loudly. Almost every in of her was absolutely covered with mud and dirt but in her sleep she didn't seem to mind. 

"If she thinks she's getting breakfast she's crazy," Karl said and Amelia and David laughed.

"Hey!" Amelia yelled as Karl poured a bucket of water over 26, getting some on Amelia in the process. Karl, Amelia, and David were down off the beach in the water pouring water onto the now awake 26 and washing her off. 26 was honking with joy and moving her head up and down. 

"Sorry," Karl said smiling proving that he wasn't actually sorry.

"When does Marion get back from the Earth Farm?" David asked as he carefully poured water over 26. The Matriarch and Marion had gone to the Earth Farm early that morning to do certain things a Matriarch must do. 

"This afternoon," Amelia told him. David sighed. 

"It'll probably take us till then to finish cleaning 26," Karl said patting 26 on the back, splashing a little water every where. 26 honked again and splashed her tail on the water. The three of them laughed. 

"At least she's having a good time," Amelia said rubbing the top of 26's head. Karl leaned between Amelia and 26 and rubbed 26's head too. Knowing it was now Karl 26 quickly turned her head to try and see him, but the sudden action made Karl fall over into the water, taking Amelia down with him. David laughed as the two sat up with the water level coming up to their elbows. They were both blowing water off of their lips and neither of them looked please. 

"You can get off of me now," Amelia told Karl. He leaned off of her and stood up. He slicked his hair out of his eyes with his hand and helped Amelia to her feet. Amelia moved her bangs off of her face and glared at Karl angrily. 

"Sorry," Karl apologized again.

"You're almost beginning to sound like you mean it," she told him. 

"I'm trying to sound like it," he responded with a grin.

"I think 26 is about as clean as she's going to get," David told them. Karl looked 26 over once more before agreeing. 

"She might be clean now but a few steps on the sand and she'll be dirty again…" Amelia informed them. Karl and David looked at each other, realizing she was right.

"You Outlanders are, well, you're something…" Amelia said. David and Karl had gotten a large cart and had gotten the wet 26 on it. Now the two of them were pulling the now heavy cart up the hill to the Hatchery. Amelia was walking behind the cart carrying towels. 26 was honking loudly, enjoying her ride.

"I didn't hear a better idea coming from _you_," Karl told her. 

"Didn't hear a _worse_ one either…" Amelia told him. 

"Oh calm down you two," David told them.

"You could help us here instead of just complaining," Karl told Amelia, ignoring David. 

"You do your own dirty work."

"You're the one who's freakishly strong," Karl told her. Amelia frowned and threw the towels she was carrying on Karl's head and walked past them into the Hatchery. David laughed slightly and Karl shook the towels off of his head, not having any free hands. 

"If she wasn't Marion's friend, sometimes I could just…" Karl started.

"Please Karl, don't finish that sentence," David asked him. 

The Matriarch and Marion were walking home from the Earth farm. Their visit took longer than they had expected but they still just enough sun to see their way home. They walked in silence but exchanged a look when they saw the clothes and towels hanging on the drying line. When they entered the Hatchery the smell of supper met them. They had both been working hard most of the day and were hungry as well as tired. 26 stomped over to them as they entered and thus making their presence known to the rest of the household. David and Karl came to greet them and Samantha ran over and hugged the both of them.

"You picked a good day to go to the Farm," Samantha told them. Marion and the Matriarch looked at her questionably. She was about to explain about the ruined garden but Karl picked her up under his arm and ran with her out of the room. Marion and the Matriarch looked at David for an explanation and David just laughed nervously. 

The Matriarch left Marion to get the story from David and she walked over to the egg. Amelia was laying beside it, fast asleep. The Matriarch smiled and looked up to the roof. Amelia had finished fixing it. That would account for the dirt and small cuts on Amelia's hands and forearms. The Matriarch ran a few fingers down the smooth eggshell. There was the same feeling coming from the egg that the Matriarch felt when Mary and Amelia were born. It was a warmth, a connection. If Amelia could learn to accept who she was, she could do great things. The Matriarch wasn't going to push her, though. She would tell the others not to either. Her lineage was something Amelia would have to come to on her own. She was stubborn, much like her sister. The Matriarch did miss Mary often. Mary had a lot of promise; she could have done great things. But Mary always wanted to be alone. The Matriarch knew that Marion knew that about Mary, and that her daughter has made every attempt possible not to leave Amelia alone. Marion knew also that Amelia and this egg do have a connection. And that Amelia wouldn't do anything that would hurt the egg. Amelia wasn't Mary. 

Karl stretched before sliding under the covers of his bed. He and David had to share a room while they were here and neither of them were very pleased about it, especially when they were both tired. David was already in bed and waiting for his brother to quiet down so David could get some sleep. Just when they were both settling down the door to their room creaked open and a loud, honking, stomping mass of dinosaur ran into the room and over to the side of Karl's bed. Karl immediately tried to calm her down and David sighed angrily.

"I don't like her sleeping in here. She snores!" David complained.

"You're just jealous because my saurian partners actually likes being around me!" Karl replied. David sighed again and got out of his bed. He grabbed his blankets and his pillow and left the room.

He entered the main room with the intention of sleeping on the giant pile of straw. He was surprised to find Marion standing in front of the egg. She turned quickly to see who had entered the room and smiled when she saw it was David. She was wearing her long, flowing white nightgown with her soft, brown curly hair hanging around her shoulders. David smiled. She was so beautiful. 

"What are you doing down here?" Marion asked him looking at the blankets and pillow he was carrying.

"Oh, uh. 26 is sleeping next to Karl. She snores…" he said with a slight chuckle. Marion nodded in understanding. 

"I'd offer you the spare room but Amelia is sleeping in it," Marion explained. David walked over to a pile of straw and started laying out his blankets. Marion walked away from the egg and closer to him.

"Amelia? Why isn't she sleeping at her house?" David asked knowing Marion was walking closer to him but didn't want to look like he was watching her. 

"She fell asleep by the egg after supper and was too tired to walk home. We had a spare bedroom so…" Marion explained and David nodded in understanding but gave no vocal response. 

"It's a boy…" Marion said. David looked up from his make shift bed.

"The egg?" he asked her. She nodded. 

"It's a boy, I can tell."

"Does Amelia know yet?"

"No, not yet. Mother is going to tell her tomorrow."

"I wonder what she'll name it," David asked more himself than Marion. Marion looked at him a little surprised.

"I hadn't even thought of him being named," Marion said glancing back at the egg.

"What do you name a guy who's ¾ dinosaur?" David asked. 

"Something meaningful, I suppose."

"We'll find out soon enough…"


	6. 6

Karl awoke the next morning to find 26 gone again. David's blankets or pillows weren't on his bed but that didn't surprise Karl any. He shot out of his bed and ran to the window. From his window he had a clear view of the Hatchery garden. He hoped 26 didn't feel like another midnight mud bowl. She was in the garden though. She was carrying a basket in her mouth over to Amelia who was kneeling in the dirt with a trowel. Amelia took the basket from 26's mouth and Karl could hear her thank the dinosaur.

"Hey!" Karl yelled down to them. Amelia looked up but 26 just nudged her in the shoulder playfully. Amelia laughed, still looking up at Karl.

"Yes?" she yelled up.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"We're replanting the garden, of course!"

"What's 26 doing?"

"She's helping!" Amelia responded. Karl thought about that for awhile. First 26 destroys the garden, and now she was helping to fix it.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?" he asked Amelia and 26 nudged her in the shoulder again with her nose. Amelia patted her snout a little. 

"She didn't want to wake you!" Amelia responded causing Karl to think a little more. He was the only one who really understood 26. He understood her better than Marion and the Matriarch even did.

"Why didn't _you_ tell me?" he asked her. She laughed a little and smiled, he eyes slightly squinted due to the morning sun.

"She didn't want me to wake you either!" Amelia responded and 26 nudged her so powerfully that Amelia fell over and began to laugh. Karl smiled and nodded his head as he turned back into his room. 

Marion carried out a basket of plantlings to the garden. She gave some to Amelia and kneeled down to plant some of them herself. 26 trotted over to her and nudged her in the arm too. Marion smiled and patted 26 on the head.

"Don't you even think about eating these," Marion told her still smiling. 26 honked softly. Marion laughed. 

"Oh I don't think she'll try that again. She ate the centers of the plapes," Amelia said holding up some plant. Marion laughed as she looked at 26.

"She regrets _that_," Marion said.

"She also regrets knocking Karl and I over," Amelia said tossing the plapes into a nearby basket. Marion turned to Amelia as 26 trotted out of the garden, probably realizing Karl had just come downstairs even though she couldn't see him. 

"You're understanding them more, aren't you?" Marion asked her. Amelia looked up from the dirt to her friend, and then back at the dirt. 

"No more than usual…" Amelia responded. Marion frowned slightly.

"These things we've learned…"

"These myths we've heard…" Amelia corrected her. Marion remained frowning. 

"_These things we've learned_, about your father. It explains a lot," Marion said beginning to replant things too.

"It explains nothing…"

"It does, Amelia, and you know it. It explains that symbol you and Mary have. It explains why your father left-"

"He _died_," Amelia again corrected her. This time Marion just ignored her. 

"It also explains Earhart," Marion said and Amelia looked up at her in surprise. Marion turned to her too.

"What about Earhart?" Amelia asked urgently.

"It explains why _you_ were chosen by his mother. Dinosaurs have also acted different around you than most people."

"They act differently around you as well…" Amelia pointed out.

"Yes but my family has been here for many, many generations. Your grandmother was an Outlander."

"My father was Dinotopian."

"He was a _god_, Amelia," Marion told her and Amelia fell silent.

"He was a father, that's all that matters…" Amelia said looking back to the dirt. Marion remained silent and tended the garden as well. 

Karl had been joined by 26 the moment his foot left the last step. He walked into the kitchen humming and she followed him as usual. Karl was a bit surprised to see Earhart in the kitchen cooking something. 

"I heard you yelling, I figured you might like some breakfast. The rest of us got up two hours ago…" Earhart said in a scolding manner. Karl just smiled and thanked him as he sat down at the table. Earhart placed what he was cooking on a plate and placed it in front of Karl along with a fork and spoon. 

"Where's David?" Karl asked merely out of curiosity. 

"He and Freefall went for a morning ride," Earhart explained hanging up the apron he had been wearing. Karl had to wonder if David's sudden outing with Freefall has anything to do with what Karl said the night before. He finally came to the decision that he didn't care either way. 

"You and David got a letter from your father, David has already read it. Hm. Here," Earhart said placing a letter in front of him with the seal already broken. Karl thanked him again and opened and read the letter. 

Zippo was planing to make a trip the Hatchery to get a better look at this egg. Now leaving his library was not something Zippo extremely liked to do but the egg and his friends were at the Hatchery which was the best place for them to be. So now Zippo had to pick and chose which books to take with him. Marion had sent him word about what they had discovered about the egg so at least now he had an area of books to chose from. He hated leaving books behind. He just knew the moment he got to the Hatchery there would be a book they would so desperately need that he had left behind. He looked at how many he had packed so far. Twelve cases, but was it enough?

Karl assumed that since David had flown off somewhere he expected for Karl to do what the letter asked. Actually Karl expected the David wanted him to do what the letter asked because it wasn't the kind of thing David has done for awhile. 26 had been amused bothering Marion and Amelia in the garden so Karl had taken the chance to take a walk into to town to find the Matriarch. Actually when Karl had watched 26 out with Marion and Amelia in the garden for a bit, he actually considered not doing what their father asked. Their father wanted them to ask the Matriarch for all of the information there was on getting or trying to get off of the island. They wouldn't let him get to the information, but maybe with the Matriarch's okay… Their father still wanted to get off of the island. He had friends and a business to run in the Outland. Karl doubted the Matriarch would let his father see the information but he'd asked anyway. When she'd say "no" Karl and David would probably team up and try to explain it to their dad that to the rest of the world the three of them were dead. His company had probably been dealt with as he had planned it to in his will and his friends were probably moving on by now. Going back now would just be unsettling to everyone. 

As Karl walked through the farm he noticed a lot of little kids following him. Whenever he would turn around they would all tuck behind a barrel or a house or something. It was an "open tail," Karl thought. Well, it was an unintentional open tail. Eventually Karl felt he'd just give the kids a run for their money and suddenly started walking backwards. He looked backward every now and then to see the kids' reaction. He laughed every time. 


	7. 7

David watched as Freefall flew off to some unknown destination, leaving David at the Hatchery. He smiled and walked behind the Hatchery to the garden. He loved the feeling of riding the skybax, he had a great time; and the sight of Marion only made the day more enjoyable. He walked over to the garden gate and was about to speak when a pile of dirt flew at his face. He spit some of it off of his face and wiped a lot of it off. He opened his eyes and looked down to see 26 looking up at him with a smile. She honked happily. He saw Marion and Amelia sitting in the garden looking at him. Marion looked horrified that something like that had happened but Amelia smiled and laughed slightly. Amelia stood up and gave him a piece of cloth from her pocket and helped him wipe some of the dirt off of his face with the corner of her apron a little. 

"Are you alright?" she asked him laughing. He nodded, beginning to laugh a little himself.

"Yea I'm fine. Though I swear she hates me…" David said looking down at 26. Marion stood up and walked over to him too, offering a clean cloth for his dirty one. 

"No she likes you, she just likes to play too much," Marion said patting 26's head. 

"Where's Karl?" David asked causing 26 to hank louder. Marion quieted her down.

"I don't now…" Marion said almost surprised by it. 

"He went to the Earth Farm, to talk to the Matriarch," Amelia explained. David nodded in understanding. The letter. He was glad Karl was asking her, David didn't want the Matriarch to get the impression he wanted to leave. The question coming from Karl wouldn't surprise her as much. 

"How long has he been gone? It's almost noon," David said with a glance down to his shadow surrounding him. 

"Well he hasn't been long enough for 26 to start worrying," Marion said still rubbing 26's head. 26's head shot up instantly and she ran from the garden, trampling over some newly placed plants. The three of them watched her gallop toward Karl who was walking up the path toward the Hatchery. He stopped when she reached his and he rubbed her. After she seemed a bit satisfied he continued walking toward the three. He looked at David and shook his head and then looked out at the garden. 

"Wow you guys got a lot done…" he said nodding in approval. He then noticed the bit 26 had unintentionally dug up.

"Hey you missed a spot," Karl said and pointed to it. Marion and Amelia frowned at him. Amelia held up a bunch of plapes and threw them wordlessly into Karl's face. She and Marion then walked out of the garden and into the Hatchery. After Karl wiped most of the dirt off of his face with the cloth David had just given him he looked at David questionably. David smirked back at him. 

"They did plant there. 26 dug it up…" David explained and followed the girls. Karl frowned and looked down at 26 who was looking up at him. She honked.

"No, don't even try…" he told her and she honked again. He began to walk toward the Hatchery, 26 following him.

"No, I don't want to hear it…" he said. She honked twice.

"I don't care how cute you are, you're still in trouble…"

Inside of the Hatchery Marion found her little sister making the bed in the spare bedroom. Marion knew she was making it for Zippo who was going to arrive tomorrow afternoon sometime. But Amelia made the bed when she got up this morning. Maybe someone had washed them for Zippo. Samantha was having trouble getting the top quilt to lay on the bed evenly so Marion helped her.

"This egg, Marion, what do you make of it?" Samantha asked her older sister.

"I am going to wait until it hatches, and make my mind up then," Marion answered. Samantha nodded her head in agreement.

"We've had a few eggs die on us these past few months, I hope this one lives," Samantha said and the two sisters tucked the quilt in under the mattress.

"It will. This egg is special, it's strong."

"If it has half the strength Amelia or Mary have it should bust its way through that shell in no time," Samantha said with a smile. It always worried Marion when Samantha talked about Mary like she was still around. Samantha was only a few years old when Mary died, but when Mary was alive Samantha idolized her much like Amelia had. Marion blamed herself for that sometimes. Marion spent most of her time at Waterfall City learning politics and caring about the whole of Dinotopia. Sometimes she forgot she was a big sister too. Amelia was more like a sister to Samantha than Marion was, though Marion knew neither of them would say so. When they were done Marion walked over and gave her sister a hug, just because she wanted to. 

Karl couldn't find Marion anywhere so he left 26 with Earhart and went to find Amelia. He had noticed the expression on Earhart's face when Karl asked him where Amelia was. It was obvious to Karl if not everyone that Earhart had a dislike for him. Karl and Earhart were probably the only ones who knew why too. That reminded Karl. He still hadn't asked Amelia about the wedding band she wore around her neck. He noticed it sometimes but the thought of asking her about it always went quickly in and out of his mind. Karl found Amelia where he half expected her to be. By the egg. 

As he got closer to her he could hear the egg making noises like it had a few times before. Noises like Samantha said most eggs made. Amelia was gently running her fingertips along the design on the egg with her hand clasped on the nape of her neck. He noticed she hadn't realized he was there so he decided to get back at her for the plants and dirt so he snuck up on her slowly. When he was right behind her, almost to the part of touching, he stood up very straight.

"How is it?" he asked simply. Of course she yelled in surprise and turned around and slapped him a few times on the chest in a spout of anger. He just laughed.

"Did I scare you? Oh I'm sorry," he said still grinning. He scared her in just the way to do it effectively but if anything had gone wrong he could say he hadn't meant to frighten her. But nothing wrong had happened so he just laughed at her. She didn't find it nearly as funny as he did.

"You are quickly becoming a pain in the ass, Karl Scott," she informed him, "what do you want?"

"Well I, wait no. I don't know. I had something to say to Marion but I can't find her so I came looking for you. But if I said to you what I was going to say to her it wouldn't end up right," he thought over. Amelia sighed and turned back to the egg.

"It's a boy," she told him. He looked down at the egg too.

"Yes, I've heard. What are you going to name it?" he asked her. She sighed.

"I don't know. All the names of any importance have been used already. I'd name him after my father but that might get confusing…" she confessed.

"May I make a suggestion?" he asked her. She turned to him surprised that he asked. She nodded.

"25…" he said and she punched him lightly. He laughed again.

"This isn't funny Karl. I may very well be the only family this children ever knows…" she said and Karl's grin turned into a smile.

"Hey, family is the people who love you. Every one here will probably love this kid to death, family is the least of his worries…" he told her and she smiled back.

"So does that mean you've pulled a stop to your trying to leave the island?" she asked him and he nodded easily.

"26 would miss me too much if I left…" he said.

"A lot of people would, I suppose. Somewhere…" Amelia said and Karl nudged her slightly.

"Hey if this place is good enough for Amelia Earhart it's good enough for me," he told her. Amelia smirked.

"With Marion as an added bonus…" she said and he laughed.

"You know there's something that has bothered me…" he started, catching her interest. He reached his hand up and held the wedding ring in the palm of his hand.

"Is this a wedding ring?" he asked her. She looked down into his hand and picked up into her own. She nodded.

"It was my grandmother's…" she explained. Karl raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't people here buried with rings and such on?" he asked. Again she nodded.

"This was her _first_ wedding ring. She was married before she came to Dinotopia. It was hard for her, at first, to think about marrying again. But she fell in love with my grandfather. Her vows were "until death do we part." The entire world thought she was dead, so it became alright to her to marry again."

"Why'd she give you the ring? I assume she _gave_ it to you…"

"She told me this is a symbol of the Outland, the places you come from. After awhile this was the only thing of her home she had left…" Amelia explained. Karl bobbed his head up and down in approval. 

"Cool," he said simply. They both looked at the ring for a few moments.

"Cool is a good thing, right?"

"Right."


End file.
